More secure land tenure in Senegal lays the groundwork for agroecology and women empowerment

Binta Ba is helping to lead a quiet green revolution in the fields of Mboro, where she lives. In this coastal region of Niayes, close to Senegal’s capital Dakar, she is training her fellow growers in agroecology, an integrated approach applying ecological and social concepts to sustainable agriculture, which turns a lot of conventional farming wisdom on its head.

The initiative is part of a long-term process supported by FAO and several governmental and non-governmental partners to promote reforms to the land tenure structures, traditionally based on customary law, that have dominated this West African nation.

As the implementation of the global Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security (VGGT) have filtered down to local level in this region, they have also catalysed a raft of interlinked moves for change. The project promotes a joint approach of land tenure security and land development. Its key points are not just agroecology, but also work on broader sustainable agricultural development and mitigating soil degradation.

Now in her fifties, Binta worked for many years as a merchant before using her savings to buy some land and turning to her passion for gardening to launch a new career. She started off using traditional methods to cultivate her fields, but the results were disappointing.

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